G-Team visits

We all know that buying a new home is an exciting, anxious, stressful, and overwhelming experience all at the same time. At Garman, we clearly understand this and we strive to make the whole experience and transition as smooth and stress free as possible!! Nothing relates to this more than our 45 day warranty and our 1 year warranty.

With out a doubt, its hard to catch and grasp the functions of a new home with the walkthroughs we do before the closing date. Obviously, we go over and critique all the measures of a new home during these walkthroughs. Whether it's explaining the HVAC and plumbing systems, or the functions of each applicance, or even how to maintain the granite/tile. We want the homeowner to feel as comfortable as possible upon their first day moving in.

What helps create an even stronger bond, is the assurance that we will be there at the 45 day mark of their closing, to go over any and all questions or concerns they may have. At this 45 day mark, we go ahead and bring in the installers of the HVAC, plumbing, electrical, painting, window/door, etc..... Pretty much every and any outfitter that had a process in building the home. Some might say its overkill, but at Garman, we want that great look of satisfaction from the homeowner as if to say, "this is why I built a Garman Home"......

At the 1 year mark, we again come back and look into any and all issues that may have come about since closing..... This is great because after a full year, the homeowner is even more accustomed to their home and helps build that sense of comfort and reliability to an even higher degree!

Both warranties are a great attribute to the homeowner and Garman. It allows the homeowner to keep their beautiful home as pristine as when they first moved in and it allows us to build an even a stronger bond and also the chance to live up to our already great reputation!!!

- John Douglas

Thanks C&W Concrete!

There are very few things that are not "fixable" in construction. If the framers goof up and frame the door at the wrong height, they take 30 minutes, tear it back apart and frame it correctly. If the plumbers cut a pipe too long, they just measure and cut again. (Measure twice, cut one is great in theory but happens very little in reality). If the electricians forget to put in a plug, they take 15 minutes and put in another one.

There is one thing that is very permanent and costs a whole bunch of money to fix if it's done wrong. It's CONCRETE! It's heavy, permanent, and virtually "unfixable". If it is fixed, then most anyone can see it. It has to be ripped out and replaced. The ripped out stuff has to be hauled away. It's a pain in the butt, expensive to do, and costs a lot of time. That is why it is soooooooo important to have a good concrete trade partner and we have the best! The name of the company is C and W Concrete. Ronnie Chambers is the owner. Scott Chambers is his son and runs the crews. Pedro is the foreman.

I don't want to jinx it, but they just don't make mistakes. These guys are great at what they do and we love them for it. Thank you guys! Our customers thank you, also. Garman Homes is honored to have you working with us!

- Dan Morse

Dan's Favorite Thing...

Plain and simple. My favorite thing about company meetings we have is that they are few and far between. Some companies have meetings everyday and sometimes two or three times a day. Why is that? It's because they don't just talk to each other. It is amazing what happens when we just hang out. We call these informal meetings. Informal meetings are common place at Garman Homes. I am amazed at how many things get missed at our formal meetings and get figured out in our informal meetings. You should try it!

- Dan Morse

Ric Peed from Tri City

Garman Homes isn't the only place you'll find Rock stars - we have some pretty rockin' vendors too. Ric Peed from TriCity Insulation of Raleigh is one of those vendors. I love working with Ric - he's always very helpful and has a great attitude (which is a must when doing anything associated with Garman Homes). These are the kind of vendors that I truly enjoy working with. So thanks Ric for not only making my job easier, but for being a great part of the support that helps us at Garman Homes be the best that we can be!!

- Val Morse

Set up for Success

We’ve all had “those jobs” or “that boss” who only cared about the “bottom line.” I’ve got news for them; people make up the bottom line. That’s just one small thing I love about our culture here at Garman. We are for sure set up for success or at least given the opportunity to succeed.

 You see, sometimes success can mean failing and failing is not necessarily a bad thing. I can recall many times when I didn’t handle that homeowner quite like I should have, or set that foundation too high, or ordered way too much lumber. But what I can’t remember is ever being blown out because of it. There is power in failure because when handled properly it gives one the opportunity to grow and succeed.

Not to mention the freedom that comes with knowing that hey, it’s ok to make a mistake. I know all my fellow Garmanites will agree that our unique culture here has helped to cultivate an attitude of wanting to be the best we can be. We may not be conventional or kosher, but we’re definitely good at being “US!”

- Gerry Felton

Kendall's Favorite

My favorite thing that we build is... well this was a hard one. I started thinking of the items that go into a home, and tried to narrow it down. That's when I realized I couldn't and had to narrow it down to a single floor plan.

This floor plan we started building at the end of the summer. The first time I walked through this floor plan I instantly had the reaction that this is the floor plan that someday I will build. The amazing first floor is open and would cater to my style of living. On the second floor the master bedroom and bathroom are ballin! On top of that the bonus room is amazing!

Thank you Brian Russo for building the home that I have fallen so deeply in love with :)

- Kendall Ashworth
(recently engaged and someday owner of a Creedmoor plan)

Bunglehouse Blue

One of my favorite features since starting at Garman, has been the exterior siding currently in place at Lot 712 in Sunset Oaks. The Bunglehouse Blue depicted in the picture below, implies how a color of siding can add such an attitude, but also create a serene atmosphere at the same time! Lot 712, has the tendency to catch every approaching visitor who turns onto Middlegreen Lane. Whether its by the effect of the grassy common area or the effect of the Carolina Blue Sky, the Bunglehouse Blue creates that awe inspiring sight!!!

- John Douglas

our "Office"

One of the earliest steps in the construction process for every house is setting up the temporary utilities. Believe it or not, it's awfully tough to build a house without power and water...just ask any of my subs when I forget to do so.

The other day I was on the phone with Progress Energy (who I've always had good experiences with btw...unexpectedly considering the reputation of most utility companies). I was setting up a new account for a house in Wedgewood. A funny thing happened when we got to the usually well-rehearsed part of the conversation where the rep asks me for our "office" address, "office" phone number, and "office" fax number.

I put "office" in quotations of course because we don't actually have an "office". Definitely not one with an automated phone system, cubicles and a fax machine. We do have to use a physical mailing address for the company, but when I told her we don't have an office phone and that I've never actually faxed anything since I've been at Garman Homes....SILENCE.

Then:

"Well, uh...wait...huh? So what is y'alls company's number? Whuduhya mean y'all don't have an office phone? Or a fax? What do y'all use then? How do people call y'all?"

At that point I got to share with her our approach to company office overhead. It sounds boring by topic, but the philosophy behind it is eye-opening!

Why tie ourselves down with a phone cord, fax machine, file cabinet or most importantly, a single location?

Instead we're outfitted with iEverything and store our files in Dropbox (cloud file management - #checkitoutforyourself). Without trying to sound like an Apple comercial, we put the best tools in the best people's hands and send them out to do their best work.

Why stand at a fax machine or wait around the office for a phone call when an Email, Text, Facebook post, Yam, FaceTime, Picture, Blog, Video or Face-to-face meeting is 1000x better and more enjoyable and efficient?? And I can do it all from wherever I need to be. At any time. From any place.

We love being on the leading edge and thinking outside of the box (aka office).

PS - Big ups to GO Realty (SHOUT OUT!) for letting us mooch on y'alls copy machine! (Spoiler Alert: Garman Homes occasionally has to do business with the non-2012 world still)

- Brian Russo

All granite is not created equal.

That's me this past summer at Arteleye with Tommy picking out the granite slab for our Parade House.  He was excited to show this slab to me because he knows how much I love slabs with really dramatic veining.  He knew I would pick this slab.  And he was right, I did.

He also knows I hate it when our buyers are disappointed.  So he called me a month ago and told me his Luna Pearl granite slabs came in looking a little differently than they usually do.  He was concerned because we had a buyer who chose Luna Pearl and her house was ready for install but he was worried she may not like this new version.

Wow-talk about being grateful for thoughtful trade partners!

So Tommy sent us pictures of the old Luna Pearl and the new Luna Pearl so we could share with the buyer.  As expected, she didn't like the new Luna Pearl.  Imagine the disappointment he spared our buyer...from walking into her brand new house and seeing a granite she wasn't expecting and didn't even like!

When I called to tell Tommy the buyer really didn't like the new Luna Pearl he stepped up again...and offered the buyer to come to the showroom and pick out another color.  At no additional cost.

She picked out a gorgeous new color.  And Tommy helped us find a way to turn something unexpected into an opportunity to really delight our buyer.  Beautiful.